UEFA has confirmed that European national teams will continue to boycott competitions organised by FIFA, saying the conditions required to end the stance have not been met. European football’s governing body also said its position on FIFA president Gianni Infantino remains unchanged.
The confirmation came in a statement issued after FIFA’s meeting in Rabat and a subsequent explanatory message sent to all 211 national associations. UEFA, led by president Aleksander Ceferin, reiterated that it would not reverse its decision to keep European teams out of FIFA-organised tournaments.
The details were reported by AS, which received a memorandum from UEFA setting out the organisation’s current position. The document followed a statement from FIFA and was issued after the governing body’s meeting in Morocco.
UEFA said its members had been clear about what would be required before they would consider ending their non-participation in FIFA competitions.
“UEFA associations have been clear about the conditions for not participating in FIFA competitions. First, the proposals aimed at privatising the main competitions had to be withdrawn, and second, guarantees had to be provided that such attempts to distort the game would never happen again.”
According to UEFA, neither of those conditions has been fulfilled. The organisation therefore said there was no basis for changing its position on participation in FIFA tournaments.
The European body also referred to its statement issued on Saturday, in which it said it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership. UEFA stressed that this view remained in place and had not been affected by FIFA’s latest communication.
It added: “These conditions have not been met. In addition, UEFA made it unequivocally clear in its statement issued on Saturday that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s presidency. This position still stands. As for yesterday’s announcement, stating that some people working for the FIFA president, whose careers depend on his approval, support him, it changes nothing.”
The comments represent a direct response to FIFA’s recent efforts to clarify the level of support for Infantino. UEFA dismissed that announcement as insufficient, arguing that the backing of individuals whose professional futures depend on the FIFA president did not address the concerns raised by the European associations.
No change has therefore been made to UEFA’s position. The organisation continues to insist that its boycott of FIFA competitions will remain in force until the demands concerning the proposed privatisation of major tournaments and guarantees against what it described as attempts to distort football have been satisfied.
UEFA’s statement also makes clear that the dispute extends beyond tournament proposals. Its lack of confidence in Infantino personally remains a central part of its stance, and the European governing body said neither the FIFA meeting in Rabat nor the subsequent message to the 211 national associations had altered that view.
